History of Us: Bloody Rose
by ajremix
Summary: History of Us Arc, pre-Mega Man 7. When you push, someone must give, when you claim something to be yours only, you become obsessed, and when the one you love pushes you away, will you wallow in betrayal or will you fight for your obsessesion? Blues/Forte
1. First: Derivation

Bloody Rose  
  
First: Derivation  
  
by Lady Virgo  
  
  
  
"O rose,  
  
How my love  
  
lives in your  
  
bloody depths"  
  
///  
  
He could hear before he could see. A fact that would make most people a bit edgy, but instead, perked his curiosity. Behind closed eyes his maintenance system kicked on, sprawling symbols and words before him.  
  
....  
  
Booting process begin  
  
Systems scan for errors  
  
Clusters scan for errors  
  
Mainframe size check  
  
All systems functional  
  
All clusters functional  
  
Virus scan initiated  
  
Program function:  
  
Left aft booster.... check  
  
Right aft booster.. check  
  
Left ankle joint..... check  
  
Right ankle joint... check  
  
Left base piston.... check  
  
Right base piston..  
  
And so on the words spilled, falling before his closed eyes repeatedly faster and faster. Patiently he watched and read, filing each function and program into his forward memory banks for easy reference. Not yet fully awakened and he already knew his purpose: to fight and to destroy.  
  
Finally, the letters stopped scrolling downwards and words flashed behind his mechanical retina.  
  
Preliminary check complete  
  
Secondary check complete  
  
Mechanical check complete  
  
Data compiled  
  
Ready for execution  
  
And the world exploded before him as a slit of light, barely within his visual range, expanded. His dilated eyes snapped into focus, regulating the amount of light that filtered into his sensors. A large, wrinkled and bald face loomed into view. He vaguely acknowledged it as he continued to view the large, cluttered room around him.  
  
"Glad to see we're up."  
  
He made a glottal, non-committal sound, still not fully looking at him.  
  
"Do you know who I am?"  
  
"Dr. Wily." He said monotonously. "You've programmed that information in me."  
  
Wily gave a slight scowl, but his eyes still held a sort of dark cheer. "Good. Move your arms. Left first." With a bored air, he complied, first his left and then his right, repeating the motions for his legs. Then, as per his orders, he sat up, twisted his torso this way and that, put all four limbs in a variety of movements and rolled his head in a number of directions. The old scientist chortled in delight that his 'creation was fully functional'. As Wily happily jotted down some notes in his book, the 'creation' took the opportunity to look at himself.  
  
Long, thin arms and legs, all pale and ethereal, unmarked and finely sculpted, the perfect balance between hard, synthesized muscled and lean agility. His torso was compact, small and slender waisted, made for power and speed. He made no recognition as his auditory sensors heard the doctor leave, but he raised his hand, placing the back of it next to the opposite ear, listening in dead curiosity as the miniature pistons pulled while the fingers flexed.  
  
It wasn't more than ten minutes later did Dr. Wily return, this time carrying a bundle of long papers- blueprints -and unrolled the lot of them on a spare table. "You...." he said, his bushy brows coming down in reminisce of an angry smile, "you understand what you are, don't you?"  
  
"I am a bioroid." He replied. "I was designed to do your bidding. To destroy, kill if the case maybe, those that attempt to stop you."  
  
"Very good. Very good, indeed." He said with a toothy smile. "Today I will begin creating your armor and your lupinoid. Today is your day of creation, Forte." He stood. "You are my greatest creation, you will succeed where others haven't. Forte.... in honor of your strength, I'll allow you to choose your design." As the new Wily 'bot stepped up to the table, Wily backed away, silently appraising his work. "I'll be back in half an hour. I'm going to check up on your lupinoid."  
  
Forte said nothing, did nothing but study the plans. His critical eye taking in the flaws and strengths of each design and assigning them to his own personal shortcomings.  
  
"A beautiful one, aren't you?"  
  
He turned around, face in a fierce snarl as he searched for the source of the smooth voice.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
He stood, the too-bright light washing over his naked body as the person came into view, peeling from out of the shadows. The light slipping over the surface of his helmet and armor, swimming on the burgundy wine color. The stranger smiled his enigmatic smile as he watched the sinewy form of Forte, curled like a spring, ready to attack.  
  
"He was really reaching for perfection when he created you, didn't he?" He asked, raising a reddish hued hand to gently trace the curve of high, strong cheekbones, down to the smooth point of the chin. "Really going for the realism, unlike a majority of your predecessors." Suddenly his hand slipped behind Forte's neck, and pulled him close. In that brief moment, Forte realized how much shorter, smaller this strange bioroid was, yet so strong, and could almost imagine sharp eyes watching him from behind the tinted shades. "Never let him touch you. All he can offer you is corruption and death."  
  
Forte narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?" He refused to be moved by the hidden eyes boring into his head, by the hand that trailed down his chest, following the path of a sealed seam, or by the mysterious, almost smug smile on thin lips that hovered above him.  
  
"Persistent and one-track minded. He's hoping that stubbornness will win."  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
He just continued to smile, his armored fingers still tracing aimlessly over the plate. Forte could feel his mechanical heart begin to speed up, sending more fluid through the artificial veins. Pressure began to build around his body as that hand passed over a nipple, thumbing the elastic nub and rubbing it against the sensors beneath it. He clenched his jaw to keep from making a sound.  
  
"Interesting. Far more detailed than any other I've seen. I'll have to keep an eye on you." He stepped back, making as if to leave when he felt Forte tangle a slender hand in the pale yellow scarf, giving a sharp tug.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
With that same irritating smile, he unhooked the fingers from the cloth, holding them before his face. "I am Blues."  
  
"You weren't created by Wily." It came more as a statement than anything else. It wasn't an obvious detail that gave away the fact, but it seemed to Forte that Wily would never be able to possess the ability to create such a graceful, collected 'bot.  
  
"No. Not completely."  
  
"You're not here to destroy me."  
  
"No. I'm here to observe."  
  
"Observe what?"  
  
"You."  
  
"Why me?"  
  
His smile never wavered as he dropped the pale hand and raised his own to brush through the unruly, lavender hair of the other. "He may get the body right, but at this rate he can never get that will correct." That smile developed an edge of bitterness. "Though I would hate to help, if it's to get my mission done, then I'll take Wily one stepped closer to his goal." He opened a compartment in his wrist brace, revealing a small pillar that opened a small slot, spilling out a tiny chip.  
  
"What is that?"  
  
"This," Blues said, making no move to approach, "is contains an enhancement file. One that increase the abilities of the WILL chip."  
  
"WILL chip?"  
  
"My, he didn't really give you much information on inner workings, did he?" He asked, not unkindly. "A WILL chip is the combination of Wily's Independent chip and Light's Logic chip. It gives the bioroid that ability and desire to think for themselves, but only allowing the bioroid to do actions that fall in the boundaries of the programmed logic. This is easy to remove and bypasses to the main WILL circuit so the pre-programmed logic can be changed at any time. But any change will only be apparent after you've been 'rebooted' so to speak." He pressed the small circle in the middle of Forte's chest, watching as it blossomed open, revealing the inner workings of the 'bot. Blues set to work in putting the chip in place. "Tonight, when you are in suspension, turn your personality matrix off and restart it when you wake up. You should be able to feel the change. It might be a strange feeling, but you should get used to it fairly quickly."  
  
"And why are you giving it to me? Especially since you don't seem too happy about the idea of helping Wily."  
  
Blues' calm air suddenly turned grave. "I'm sure you were programmed with at least a passing history of Wily and Light."  
  
"Yes. They used to be lab partners, now they're rivals."  
  
"Right. They're using bioroids as a means to play their own versions of 'God'. Racing each other to create an artificial human, one with stronger, faster, more adept bodies and a larger brain capacity. They're both aiming for immortality and, indirectly, perfection, trying to master a power that doesn't belong to them."  
  
"Then what are you for?"  
  
"Me?" A dry humor crept in his voice. "I'm trying to expand the awareness on at least a couple of bioroids. You could say, as someone once put it, I'm trying to keep heads above water before the boat sinks."  
  
Forte looked up as Blues finished putting the chip in the slot, looking ahead against a soon to be familiar wall as he dwelled upon the words. "And what should I be doing?"  
  
"You have eyes." The shorter bioroid said, straightening. "The world is there to be seen, not to be told. What you gather from what is around you is for you to treasure alone."  
  
"And you think that this chip will help me think for myself?"  
  
"No. You already have the ability to think for yourself. You just have to over come the other chips that are trying to keep you tied to that guy." He tossed his head in the vague direction of the lab door. "But I have to be going before he comes back. He and I.... don't get along too well." His lips curled in a dark smile. "It would be best if you didn't mention this meeting, either. Who knows, he might try to erase your memory chips, possibly even toss you in the junkyard. He's been known for being a bit.. extreme in certain cases."  
  
Once again, Blues turned to leave. But a voice stopped him.  
  
"Blues."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What armor do you think would best suit me?"  
  
Blues turned around fully, a look of surprise on his half-covered face. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words would appear. After a pause he began to chuckle. "You caught me off guard on that one. Congratulations, you've earned my respect already." Stepping passed the newly awoken Wily 'bot, Blues skimmed through the blueprints. Halfway through the rather impressive pile, he stopped and smiled- a true, soft smile that made Forte wonder what he had done to receive it and what to do to see it again. "Here. This is the perfect one for you." He held up the blueprint so Forte could see it, but he was no longer interested. Right now all he cared about was the curious bioroid before him.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"You don't have me to thank. In a way, you could say you were created to wear this," his smile grew fonder, "Cobra." Forte felt the corner of his lips twitch slightly, almost too much for him to quell. Softly Blues reached out and fitted the smooth curve of Forte's cheek in the cup of his palm. "You have beautiful, clear eyes, Forte. Never forget to use them." With no other movement than the mere action of leaving, Blues faded back into the shadowed corners of the lab.  
  
It was with a slight disturbed notion that Forte noted his sensors were unable to follow the elder 'bot out of the lab, but deep within he wasn't surprised. The power readings couldn't be tracked, or more, refused to, but there was no malicious intent behind the shaded visor. As an unspoken agreement, Blues would return and Forte would wait for him. But until then, the latter would have to be satisfied with the 'present' the other had left him.  
  
Forte lifted the partially rolled up blueprint to rub against his cheek, still tingling from the touch. His gold, snake-like eyes narrowed slightly as he gave a fanged smile.  
  
He could wait. 


	2. Second: Opposition

Bloody Rose  
  
Second: Opposition  
  
by Lady Virgo  
  
  
  
"As you bloom,  
  
the initial beauty  
  
overwhelms me,  
  
I yearn for more"  
  
///  
  
The boosters worked well, Forte dully noted as he easily paced Gospel around the training grounds. The heat and friction of his movements caused burnt tendrils to snake out behind him. A slight sense of irritation rose up within him as he realized he was once again straying from the test, trying to focus on perfecting his skills for the future. But every time he worked with Wily and the Robot Masters, he couldn't help but wish time would pass over as soon as possible. He had another battle test after this, another teacher to learn from. Blues.  
  
He checked his internal clock.  
  
1823.06  
  
Three seconds since he checked the air waves. Much too long.  
  
With a grim twist of his lips, Forte cycled through the transmission frequencies once again.  
  
Channel 1: white noise  
  
Channel 2: white noise  
  
Channel 3: white- no, wait...  
  
*shrek* -baring 25, coming- *shrek* -round.  
  
So here they come. About time. He thought sourly. The quicker he got this over, the quicker he'd be able to learn something useful.  
  
The quicker he could see Blues.  
  
No time for thought, just action. Forte turned as Pharaoh leapt down at him, blocking the attack with the thick, gleaming ebony of his wrist guard. Snapping his arm around, Forte sent the Robot Master into the ground. Spark came at him from one side, Centaur from another with Cloud above.  
  
"Gospel!"  
  
With a low rumbling battle cry the lupinoid drove forward upon powerful legs, smashing into Spark, keeping an arm in a tight yet gentle grip. Enough to incapacitate but not damage. Eyes flaring bright, he growled at Spark- making sure he knew to stay down -and flashed towards the approaching Crash and Snake, not giving them the time to attack his master.  
  
Forte, meanwhile, was beginning to max out his thrusters as he fought to out-speed Centaur and not to be blown away by Cloud's gale. Centaur, being the half quadruped he was, was able to keep his ground against the wind. A flash of inspiration came across the cobra-crested robot as his positronic mind whirled, trying to come up with a plan.  
  
As Centaur reared back, attempting to kick Forte out of the air with his powerful forelegs, Forte diverted all unneeded power to his rear boosters and shot himself under the raising metal horse. Once on the other side of the Robot Master, Forte jumped onto the other's back, stepped of the top crest of the helmet and lifted himself into the air, flipping himself towards Cloud. At the apex of his jump, he shifted, feet towards the floating bioroid and put his boosters on full throttle, burning through the cloud and anti-grav platform.  
  
Forte landed on the ground in a roll and came up, buster humming, with his arm a mere breathe away from Centaur's nose, aimed and powered up.  
  
"Game. Match."  
  
Behind him he heard Spark sit up.  
  
"Fuu. He got us again." He held his arm, inspecting it for bite marks. "I don't know how he does it, but I've never seen anyone beat him."  
  
"He better be good enough to get that damned pipsqueak. I'm tired of being second best to the bastard." Pharaoh grounded out, arms crossed. He gave a harsh glare at Forte. Though he didn't like the idea of this new bioroid.... so.... /perfect/, being the best, he hated to idea of Rock continuing to put down the Robot Masters uninhibited.  
  
Crash spoke up as he and Centaur struggled to right the fallen Cloud between them. "I'm just curious as to where he learned those moves. If Wily-sama knows them, then why weren't /we/ programmed with them, too?"  
  
"But did he have to ruin my anti-grav platform?" Said the suddenly crippled 'roid. "It took Wily-sama forever to get it working after the first malfunction."  
  
"Be glad your not Bursssst." Snake said. "Wily-sssssama issss still trying to get all the ssssplinterss out from when Forte shoved the log down the busster barrel."  
  
"You two get beat up the most, and you guys haven't even been used against the blueberry yet. That can't be a good sign."  
  
Everyone stopped and looked up when they realized that Forte was no longer listening to them and was, in fact, walking away towards the forest.  
  
"Forte? Where're you going? We have to report back to Wily-sama."  
  
"Yeah, get another lecture on wrecking your fellow Robot Masters."  
  
Slowly, Forte stopped and turned around. His golden eyes narrowed to mere slits, mouth drawn out to show of his fangs. "I am not a Robot Master. I am not one of you." He turned around, whistling for Gospel to join him.  
  
"Geez. What's got his neurons in a bunch?"  
  
///  
  
"You're mighty impressive, Forte-kun."  
  
He only grunted in response.  
  
"Don't be disappointed in your performance. Most people wouldn't have been able to come to such a.... creative solution at all."  
  
Forte looked down, trying to think of something to say in response.  
  
Noticing the black 'bot's inability to converse, Blues glided out of his perch in the tree. Gospel, after realizing his master's intentions, had wandered off to act as a patrol. Blues stepped up to the taller, cocking his head slightly to the side, trying to get Forte to look at him.  
  
"Forte-kun.... do you understand why I'm doing this for you and not the others?"  
  
Weary snake eyes peered up at him below his crest. "No."  
  
"Well then, get comfortable, this will take a while." The two bioroids sat upon separate roots that arched out of the ground from their limitless slumber. "First I suppose I should explain the aim of the two good doctors in a bit more detail. Several years ago there was a large group of scientists that began a rather long, rather profitable career in robotics. They weren't much in the way of intellectual robots such as ourselves, they were simple, pre-automated servant 'bots, no independent thought, no complex matrix make up. Then, as more and more people gained access to the servant robots, the demand for larger, more complex robots became greater. Then other groups began to get mixed up in the entire robotics industry, concerned that it would be used in war, or that it, if given our own consciousness, we would revolt against our makers.  
  
"While a majority of those scientist decided to give up on robotics until the storm calmed on the issue, there was still a handful that went on creating them, two of which were doctors Wily and Light. A few years ago, a servant 'bot was programmed to assassinate the leader of a radicals in Northern Africa. Though the servant robot was stopped, the incident put the entire world aflame with new paranoia of robots. Wily and Light wanted to continue their work, to prove that the robots could actually be more human than most people would think. They attempted to build a robot, dubbed bioriod, that would have independent thought, that would be able to decide between right and wrong; morality, ethics, feelings, even desires and aspirations- the most human non-human.. they were aiming to become Gods in their own right. And after their main benefactor passed away, the support from the company waned with him and the two were left with very little funds. They realized that if they could create this 'most human' creature, they would be able to imprint a person's brainwave into the positron brain and hence gain a sort of immortality.  
  
"They wanted perfection." Blues said with a bitter grin. "What they got was me."  
  
Forte's brows came down to a point beneath his helmet. "You? What do you mean?"  
  
"I'm a prototype. The first in the generation of bioroids. The.... defect, if you would."  
  
"How are you defective? You're clearly smarter and stronger than any of the Robot Masters."  
  
There was a slight smile beneath hidden eyes. "Thank you, Forte-kun. However, because the doctors worked together on me, they gave me the best both could offer. Light preferred perfect bodies and a heavy sense of humanity. Wily preferred a strong sense of duty and aggression. However, ironically enough, they both also wanted total obedience."  
  
"Which you refused because you were also given a yearning for freedom, just like any human would."  
  
"That and I have no liking for authority, yes." Blues said with a grin. "And it's because of them. That's why I have to do this. Because they want to create humans, but they don't want them to be treated like humans. They want us to be their slaves, and I'm trying to make bioroids aware of that fact, one at a time if I must." He turned to look Forte in the face. "Not every bioroid will understand. The last one I had told, he understood the plight, but he can't grasp the situation. He tries to understand but he's still too dependent on his creator, too wrapped up in his morals to do any good."  
  
Something within Forte stirred, driving him to ask, "Can I see your face?" Blues' smile fell. The other winced. "I-I'm-" Stumbling over his words, Forte fell silent, unsure of what to say.  
  
"I'll tell you what, Cobra." The elder said as he stood up from the giant root, in his voice seeped a tone of near contempt. "Let's play a little game, it'll work to help with your speed and reactions. Perhaps even your surveillance." Walking away, Blues stopped a few meters away and picked up something from his small bag of equipment. From it he pulled out ten pieces of paper and to each he stuck an adhesive. "These are the rules. We get five papers each, one stuck to each limb and one on the chest. The goal is to grab all five of the other person's paper while trying to keep from losing any of their own. No fighting allowed, only agility and speed. Should you win, you may see my face. Should I win..." his smile became distinctly predatory, "well, we'll decide what will happen then."  
  
///  
  
"You're later than usual, Forte."  
  
With his head bent forward, Forte moved towards his suspension chamber, recalling his armor, leaving his naked body to finish its trek towards the bed-like cell.  
  
"Forte." Wily said, turning back from his computer to look at his newest creation. "I'm getting tired of this. You've been vandalizing the rest of the Robot Masters and been disappearing after practice every day. I want to know why."  
  
"No reason I feel like saying."  
  
Something came down hard upon the smooth surface of a plywood desktop. "Dammit, Forte! You've been getting more and more dissident every day and I want to know /why/. Where have you been going, why are you so insistent on destroying your teammates. And most of all..." the old man stood from his desk and strode over to the bioroid, forcefully bringing the face into the fluorescent lighting. "...Why are you acting so much like /him/."  
  
With a growl, he pulled back, smacking away the hand. "Him who? I have no reason to tell you anything." Forte rubbed a cheek, hyper aware of the stark contrast between the sudden appearance of the twin streaks of violet upon his pale cheeks were. "I don't owe you an explanation of anything, I do as I please."  
  
Wily cuffed the rebellious 'bot across the face. "You do as /I/ please! I created you! I gave you life, a purpose! And as your creator I deserve you undivided loyalty. Your entire being belongs to me and only me!" He snarled in Forte's face. "I will not allow you to become the same defiant bastard as that damned Blues."  
  
There was no warning, not even in the electrons in Forte's artificial mind. Just that moment of pure movement, the instant of time where Forte's bare hand suddenly wrapped itself around Wily's neck. He was trembling, he didn't know why, but an anger he had never felt before was clouding his mind and only one thing burned in his mind beyond the roiling hate:  
  
/ I don't follow either of them. Wily or Light. But there are two rules that they had instilled in me that I will follow without a question, one I hold in the highest priority: Never hurt a human being. If we start attacking humans for no reason, we'll be no better than what they think. Not only would we deserve the servitude they believe we should do, but we wouldn't even deserve to have our own will or feelings. We should just go back to being mindless servants. /  
  
No, Forte couldn't do that, no matter how much he wanted to. For you.... I won't let your efforts be wasted just because of my stupid impulsiveness. I won't let my emotions hold you back. For you. Only for you. On a great effort of his will, Forte slowly released the scientist and brought his quivering hand to his side, still shaking with rage.  
  
Wily's eyes narrowed. "So I was right. Those were his moves you've been using. That little bastard thought that he could turn my own creations against me." He stepped up to Forte who backed away, only knowing that the only way to keep from dealing serious injury to the little human was to keep his distance. Yet Wily kept advancing until the bioroid had hit the wall.  
  
"I've warned him long ago to stay out of my affairs. I've had enough of him screwing around, helping out that damned Rock.." he ran clawed fingers down Forte's riffed stomach, sending little shivers quaking up the torso. "I won't let him make a fool out of me. I'll destroy him before that can happen. And you.... you were created to destroy Rock, but evidently, you will also be the key to Blues' undoing." That said, the hand snaked around the waist and popped the hidden switch in the small of his back, effectively shutting down the bioroid, causing him to slouch slightly. "If I can't see his entrails strewn across a field, I can at least extract some sort of revenge for all the embarrassment he's caused me." I'll never forgive myself for spending so much needless time, wasted time, on you, Blues.. 


	3. Third: Sin

Bloody Rose  
  
Third: Sin  
  
by Lady Virgo  
  
  
  
"Open your petals  
  
to pout, to be  
  
kissed by the  
  
troubled rain"  
  
///  
  
He wasn't the only one enraged by Wily's impulsiveness and lack of foresight. Every time the doctor would pass close by, Gospel would scrunch up and growl, barring his metallic fangs as if he would tear out the human's throat. Were Blues in the lupinoid's place, however, he would do more than just rip out body parts.  
  
But no. That would violate the one rule that bond him. Regardless if Wily deserved it or not, he could never kill a human in cold blood.  
  
It had been a week since Wily had installed that chip in Forte and during that time the black bioroid had become progressively more defiant, more violent than ever. And what angered Blues even more was the fact that, as he watched Forte mercilessly beating up on the Robot Masters, Wily took a morbid joy in watching the bloodlust build in the ebony 'bot.  
  
And the time spent between the older and younger bioroid became more..dangerous perhaps? Even erotic in an odd sense. Ever since they first met there was a slight spark, one that grew as time went by, becoming electric, raising their nerves. It made them painfully aware of the attraction and the fear between them that drew them together and pushed them away. Now, however, ever since the activation of the chip, Forte fairly reeked sensuality and Blues had become almost frightened of meeting him.  
  
"You're thinking too much again." Forte's voice interrupted, taking on an almost rough tone. "It's almost as if you're trying to ignore me." The black 'bot sans helmet walked up to the waist high branch Blues was currently perched on. He cradled his violet streaked chin in his arms, resting high on Blues' thighs. "Are you? I could just leave you alone, you know."  
  
There it was again, that razor thin edge, even when they were companionable. The only time there wasn't that sharpness between them was during their fights. It was like a breath of sweet air to Blues, the ability to work off the physical tension with no fear of the future.  
  
Silence reigned in the woods.  
  
Forte, tired of beating around the bush, climbed up on the tree, seating himself behind the other, a branch higher. He placed a leg on either side of Blues, arms propped up on the other's shoulders and chin resting on the crest of the burgundy helmet.  
  
"Coming here everyday is like being by myself. You don't talk to me anymore. Is it something I've done?" His hand slid up the side of Blues' face in a sweet, possessive caress. Were Blues any less adapt at actions and emotions, he would have downplayed it as a friendly touch. But he knew Forte, and he knew himself better. This was the one thing he couldn't give into.  
  
Forte frowned slightly at the lack of reaction he received. He moved both hands to the bottom of the helmet, attempting to remove it when Blues suddenly snapped into animation, his hands ensnaring Forte's wrists before he was even aware of the movement.  
  
"Don't." He whispered harshly.  
  
"Why not? Do you think I'm so ugly you can't look at me straight in the eye? Or do you think that I'd find you totally repulsive underneath that mask?"  
  
"No." He slipped off the branch, trying to put space between them, but Forte followed closely behind.  
  
"Then let me see your face."  
  
"No." He couldn't. If Forte could see the emotions that swam behind the dark visor, Blues would be left defenseless. His control would be taken out of his hands, the one thing he feared the most.  
  
"What are you hiding?" Forte asked, the burgundy bioroid coming to a sudden stop as his back hit the trunk of another tree. "How difficult can it be to comply to one simple request?"  
  
"Why are you so adamant about seeing my face?"  
  
"Because I've waited nearly four months for you to show it on your own. You haven't made the move yet, so it seems I have to." His gold eyes narrowed and determined, Forte whispered, "I can be as stubborn as you. If you don't take off the helmet, I will."  
  
And that meant they'd get into another sparring match. Though it would usually come as a relief to Blues, this fight held a much more dangerous, much more sexual air than the others. It seemed that Blues would have to give in, either way the out come was not in his favor.  
  
Slowly he ducked his head, pulling off the helmet. Dark brown, almost black hair fell over his forehead. Unwilling to show his apprehension, Blues stood to his full height and watched Forte's reaction with stern red eyes.  
  
Forte, however, was completely blown away. His hand, shy and unsure as he reached up to run fingers through the soft spikes of his hair. "I don't see why you were so reluctant." He said breathlessly, his fingers trailing down to touch the corner of one eye, then to trace over his lips. "Your eyes are so beautiful and sad."  
  
"Are you satisfied?" He asked gruffly.  
  
"No."  
  
Blues frowned. "No?"  
  
"Only one thing can satisfy me." Forte finished with an evil smile, the tip of a pink tongue poking out to lap his bottom lip. The elder bioroid's frown deepened at the display. He knew what Forte wanted, it was painfully obvious, but.. he couldn't.... no matter how much he wanted...  
  
The cobra crested 'bot scowled abruptly and turned away. "No wonder you wear the visor. Everything is so obvious in your eyes. But if you can be stubborn, so am I."  
  
"Forte...." He took a step forward, away from the tree, only to be pressed against it once more as Forte whirled around, slamming his hands on either side of Blues with such force his fingers dug burrows in the bark.  
  
"Why?" Forte grounded out, his breathing irregular and his eyes flashing with frustration. "You want it as much as I do, that's obvious. So why? Why are you torturing the both of us like this?"  
  
Blues' hands clamped around the other's shoulders and pushed him forcefully back. "I can't because...." Inside he knew there was no other way to satisfy Forte, not when he was like this. Stubborn with a one-track mind, he wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. A trait that Blues admired but suddenly found working against him. "Because I'm.... afraid."  
  
Gold eyes narrowed. "Afraid? Of what?"  
  
"Of what this will all lead to. Because.." Blues looked away, trying to form his thoughts into words. "Because I've never felt such a strong longing to be with anyone before. I'm afraid that it's all just another conquest for you now. Because I.. don't want to hurt you."  
  
Through the small speech, Forte's eyes softened and he placed a gentle hand against Blues' cheek. "But you /are/ hurting me. Because whenever you push me away like this, it feels like you hate me. But I couldn't submit first, not to this. You were always so perfect, so in control. For once, just once, I wanted to know that I had even the slightest power over you, if not as much as you have over me." A grin tugged at his lips. "But apparently I have a lot more than I initially thought."  
  
He gently placed his hands on the smooth, red-hued chest plate as Blues nervously licked his lips. Forte leaned forward, just close enough to blow his breath onto the other's wet lips, watching them tremble faintly. He let out a little snort of laughter.  
  
"What?" Blues asked, his voice husky.  
  
"You're starting to lose control."  
  
He frowned. "I am not."  
  
"Yes, you are."  
  
"No. I am not."  
  
Forte's lips thinned into a smug, evil smile. "Fine then. I'll prove to you that you are." His head shot forward in mimicry of the reptile he was nicknamed after, catching Blues' lips with startling speed and hunger. His tongue slipped easily into the startled, yielding mouth above him, rubbing against the moist, hot-cold plates of the tongue, smiling to himself as he felt Blues stiffen under his hands. He moved one arm down the length of his elder's body, moving it against a limp arm and fumbled slightly against the smooth surface, trying.. to find.. that /switch/..  
  
Blues shivered, feeling the familiar sensation of his armor dissipating back into the confines of the Flash Case. His naked body, unbearably hot, ached against the cold, hard armor still encasing Forte. He tried to tell Forte, to say that he wanted the armor off, to feel hot skin against hot skin, but his voice failed him, letting out only a whimpered moan as Forte's mouth left his, instead, lapping against the shallow dip of his collar. His nerves were on fire, he couldn't think, couldn't stand, he barely had the strength to claw desperately at the ebony armor in a vain attempt to take it off. Damn. Even though his body wasn't as advanced as Forte's, when Light wanted a near human body- and persuaded Wily of the same -they were obsessive on getting every little detail perfect.  
  
Forte, however, found the other's plight to be somewhat humorous. But he wanted to feel the slim, strong chest against his own, naked and slick with sweat. Armor recalled, he was surprised when Blues' hands lifted his head up, capturing mouth with mouth.  
  
His breathing sounded harsh and too loud in his ears as he bit down firmly on Forte's bottom lip. He released a deep-throated purr that resonated throughout the snake-eyes bioroid's mind, reverberating through his body and sending sweet chills down his shoulders and back. It was almost obsessive, how close he wanted to be to Forte, how much he wanted to possess, to be possessed. It was almost insanity. The same as what Forte felt, their hearts racing in beat, so close, so hot, so /tight/.  
  
He wanted it, he wanted this. He wanted /him/. To watch him lose control, that perfect control that seemed an unbreakable nature around him. It was a fact that Forte refused to believe in. That control could be broken, and he wanted to see what Blues looked like when it no longer surrounded him. When it was Forte that made him lose control.  
  
And if Blues had tried to struggle, had even the remote inclination to keep himself together, he wouldn't have had the chance as lips, tongue, hands grabbed him, surrounded him and broke his finely constructed world into stain-glass shards, showering around the two in a glowing cacophony, muffled only by the stifled cry of teeth braced on skin and tears dried by a trembling thumb.  
  
///  
  
Shaking and still weak, Blues struggled to his feet. Forte, who was using him as a pillow, gave a mewl of protest, arm winding tighter around his thighs. However, there was one thing that Blues could never forget, no matter how much he longed to stay in Forte's embrace. He had a mission, he had someone he had to protect.  
  
"Forte-kun." He whispered, feeling more than a little guilty about having to wake up the younger bioroid and to leave so quickly, but it had to be done. "Forte-kun, we have to go. Wily will be looking for you, you've been gone much longer than usual."  
  
"I don't care." Forte grumbled, nuzzling the stomach he rested on. "Wily can go screw himself on Elec's helmet."  
  
"That is a very disturbing sight to think of."  
  
"Yeah, but it's a funny one." The other said, violet cheeks stretching into a smile.  
  
Gently, Blues unwound himself from Forte's grasp as the latter began to sit up. "I'm sorry, Forte-kun, but I have to meet someone."  
  
Suddenly, he found himself in the almost painful grasp of the cobra, possessive eyes pinning him in place. "You're mine. No one else can have you."  
  
Blues' lips twitched in a smile, finding the possessiveness more humorous than confining. "Of course. If I felt the same way about someone else as I do for you, do you think I would give in so easily?" He bent down, placing a chaste kiss upon Forte's lips. "I take emotions very seriously, they're not something to be toyed with."  
  
"I don't care about emotions. I only care about you. Anyone that hurts you or tries to take you away from me, I'll kill them." He said seriously, there was no doubt in either of their minds that he would fall short of that statement.  
  
"I know. But I have a mission to carry out, you know that. And I'll be back for you soon."  
  
"I know. I just want to have you to myself forever." Forte murmured sadly.  
  
Blues gave a small smile, more sorrowful than anything else. "Someday, I promise you can. But right now, I'm trying to make it so we can spend as much time together as possible. I'll be back, Forte-kun."  
  
He didn't see as Blues called back his armor and disappeared into the world beyond the forest. He knew, but he didn't care. Blues was trying to make things fairer for bioroids, something he respected. But if he had to choose between the world order and that.... nameless feeling as he drowned in Blues' scent of pine and spice..  
  
No. Not this time.  
  
He wouldn't wait this time. 


	4. Final: Deceit

Bloody Rose  
  
Final: Deceit  
  
by Lady Virgo  
  
  
  
"And to finally wilt,  
  
crying while  
  
lovingly crushed  
  
by my hand"  
  
///  
  
It was so easy to leave. It wasn't so much that he was using Rock as a reason to escape the facility, because even the joy of traveling held the under current of foreboding that squelched the sweet breath of relief and freedom to a near nothing.  
  
Returning was the harder part. And it just kept getting harder and harder as time went by. At first he used the excuse that the longer he stayed away, the better Forte's mood would be when he returned. But soon he learned that prolonging his trips, no matter the justification, just made matters worse and that made him want to stay away even longer.  
  
And everything got shot to hell when Dr. Wily was finally in custody.  
  
"Why do you have to go now?"  
  
"Because it's my duty."  
  
"Wily is done with. You don't have to worry about him anymore. He can't control any of the bioroids from jail."  
  
Blues scowled. He had lost when this conversation had started, there was no way to change Forte's mind. His stubbornness, though an admirable trait, had quickly become an annoyance and a liability when he constantly refused to hear the other side of the story.  
  
"Wily isn't my concern. He was an obstacle, but he was never my true concern."  
  
At this point, Forte turned, his gold eyes narrowed and smoldering from beneath pale lavender bangs. "And I rank below him, obviously."  
  
"I'm doing this for you, too. I want to make it so that every bioroid-"  
  
"I don't care about the other damned bioroids!" He burst. "I only care about you! Everyone else in the entire world could commit mass suicide for all I care! I just want you with me forever! I want to be the most important thing on your mind, just like you are in mine!"  
  
The other stood there, stoic and frigid, his exasperation stirring deep within him, becoming something more dangerous.  
  
The silence only drove on Forte's anger, feeding what would become a wild fire, lethal and uncontrollable; a force indiscriminant and determined to destroy anything in it's way. "Why do you have to do this? Why won't you let me join you if your too pig-headed to just leave it be? Look!" He swept his arms out wide. "Everyone is happy! All your precious humans are no longer living in fear of another Robot Master attack, the Robot Masters themselves are either shut down and put in glass cases or they're in hiding with no intention of resurfacing for fear of being put in that stupid museum. Why can't you just let it go?"  
  
"Because Wily isn't the point!" Blues pounded out with more feeling than expected, but at the moment he was too tired to care. "I tell you constantly, but you keep on believing he is! That's exactly why you can't come with me, because you don't understand!"  
  
That stung more than anything else Forte had ever gone through. "I don't?" He fists trembled, the quivering of his chin less obvious. "I don't but that little fucker Rock does, is that it? That dammed shrimp knows more than me because you spend more time with him. I've been giving you everything I thought you'd want from me and your traipsing around behind my back with that little pain in the ass!" Each word that passed unheeded through Forte's lips stoked the fire, finding the rhythm, preparing for a crescendo that would break them both. "I'm tired of hearing how great he is! I hate having to come second to him! I love you! I'll kill that little son of a bitch before you-"  
  
"You will do nothing of the sort!" The ocean of fire was boiling around them both, clouding their views with a thick haze and their minds with searing pain of betrayal. "I've cared for you like I've never had for anyone before! I've told you every thing I could because I want you to trust me, because I trust you! I didn't want to leave you, but if I ever wanted to be with you forever, without having to worry about what would happen in the future, I knew I would have to go back out and complete my mission! None of this.. none of this is about Wily or Light or even Rock! The doctors, they're seeking to create slaves, but they're not the only ones that are searching for a way to create perfection in machines. Because of that I have to stop them. Rock, he's my brother. I protect him, I watch over him because he doesn't understand the ways of the outside world. Because he needs my help. Because if anything should happen to me, I know that he would be able to continue my mission!"  
  
"You don't believe that I could? Is that it? You trust the bastard more than me? WHY? I'm the one that's seen you sleeping, unprotected. I'm the one that's seen you cry when you've touched that part of heaven that just ours alone. I'm the one that holds you when you come back from the world, too tired to do anything more than rest. I've had countless times to kill you, or give you back to Wily, but I didn't because I love you, because I want to believe that you trust me. So why can't you trust me with this? Why can't you tell me?"  
  
"I do!" Blues exploded. "I've told you over and over but you never listen! You hear what I say, but you never listen because you don't /care/ about what I do! All you care about is my returning, but that's not going to help anything! Rock tries, but you just try to keep me to yourself. In all honesty, you're hindering my progress more than anything else!"  
  
Those words struck through him like nothing else had. Forte believed he felt something tear apart within him, had hoped that Blues could hear it, know that he caused it. And he hoped that he would die for the pain and humiliation he felt at that moment.  
  
"Forte.." Blues said softly, all the anger and fuel rushing out of him with his passionate words, leaving him tired, too tired to continue this argument "Forte, please.. I know how you feel and I understand-"  
  
"What would you understand?" The other grounded out, lifting his head slightly, eyes beginning to glaze in a synthesized make of tears. "You don't know how I feel, you don't know anything about me. If you did, then why are you pushing me away? Why are you always leaving me behind for some half-assed reason?!" His voice began to crack and clear liquid spilled over violet cheeks brightened with an angry red flush. "Do you know how many times I stay up all night, waiting for you to come back? So I can see you again? Do you know how many times I dream about your return, how many more times I dream that you've been hurt or even killed?? I'm not being possessive because I want to be! I am because I love you! Because I wouldn't be able to live if you were killed! Because I can't stand the idea of you bleeding all over yourself, with no one to help you, just so you can help some bioroids who don't know enough to care about the sacrifice your making! Don't you dare pretend that you know how I feel! If you knew, then you wouldn't be leaving me behind for weeks on end! You wouldn't let me worry as much as I do!"  
  
He couldn't think of what to say, what to do in response. All he did was fall in a heavy huff onto one of the fallen trees in the forest overlooked by Wily's fortress. He rubbed the heel of one hand against the round corner of his helmet, trying to regain control of.. everything.  
  
"Don't do this, Forte. Please."  
  
"What?! What am I doing?? You're the one that's breaking me apart here!! You're the one that's making me feel like shit when I'm the one that's trying to believe that you'll always be back for me! After weeks, sometimes even months of never hearing anything from you, you think that I'm smothering you! What gave you the right to judge how I feel?? What gives you the fucking right??"  
  
Both hands braced against the crown of his helmet, shoulders tensing. "Don't, Forte."  
  
"Can I not worry about you? Is that it? I'm just someone for you to fuck whenever the need should arise? You keep talking about making it so that bioroids are as equal as humans but you're using me just like Wily was! You don't care about anything except for that fool mission of yours!"  
  
He trembled, jaw clenched tight enough to hurt, knuckles popping against the helm, fingers trying to indent themselves into the red hue. "Forte.."  
  
"Have you ever even cared about me? Truly? I've given you a year of my life, everything I've done was for you! I've kept myself from killing Wily plenty of times so I wouldn't get in the way of your work, but you don't think I've done anything to help! You just stand there making accusations and making me feel like shit, making me think that I haven't been doing anything at all!"  
  
"Don't.."  
  
"Or would you rather I go around, fighting Robot Masters in little blue armor. Would that make you pay attention to me? Would that make you give a damn??"  
  
"I can't.."  
  
"How many times have I told you I loved you? How many times have I waited to hear those same words come out of your mouth? How many times do I have to be jealous of Rock because he gets to see you, to have you next to him whenever I can't?? /Why/ do I have to feel this way? Why do you keep making me go through the same thing, time and time again!?"  
  
"..not like this.."  
  
"I hate having to think about what you do when I'm not around! I can't give you up! Not when you've touched me like you have! Not when I've given myself to you so completely!"  
  
"I can't.."  
  
"All I want is you to stay with me! To hold me and make me believe that everything is fine between us! That you really do care about what I think, what I say, what I feel! That I'm the most important thing in your life!"  
  
I can't love you like this..   
  
"I've promised you once, Blues. I've told you I would destroy anything that came between us. If Rock is going to be an obstacle, I /will/ get rid of him. Wily or not."  
  
Abruptly, Blues stood up, startling Forte. "That's enough, Forte. That's it."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Go, do what you want. I give up, Wily's beaten me. He's gotten his revenge, it's over now."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
He turned, scarf fluttering about him as he jabbed a finger in Forte's direction. "That's why I couldn't say anything! That's why I couldn't tell you what I feel inside! Ever since Wily put that chip inside of you, you've been acting so different. I don't know which part is you anymore! How can I trust you knowing that Wily could hear everything going on between us? I didn't say anything because to protect you! He used you to get revenge on me, and now he's gotten it! For all I know, everything you've ever said to me since then has been because he told you to! You're no longer a bioroid, you're just a puppet, one that I've cared about so much that it hurts every time I remember how I failed you! How should I know if you're even aware of what you're saying to me! Even at this moment!"  
  
"I know I'm in control when I say this: I hate you!! I can't stand you! How you just use me and everything else, how you're trying to be in control and saving everything when it's all just an illusion. I HATE YOU! Everything about you! How you made me fall so hard for you! How I gave everything up just to make you happy! I hate you and I hate myself for loving you and for still loving you even when your standing there destroying every hope I had for the two of us living together! For destroying my dreams and hopes.. I HATE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING!"  
  
Darkly, Blues replied. "Good. You do that. Stand there and hate me. Hate everything about me, anything attached to me. Hate yourself for touching me if you must." If this is the only way to protect you, to keep you away and from all the troubles that have been following me since I took up this mission.. If it means for you to hate me and never wanting to see me again, I'll do it. Just to protect you.   
  
"Shut up! Just go away! I don't want to see you, I don't want to hear you! Just get the hell away from me!"  
  
He turned away, face quiet and solemn, inside he wanted to cry and scream, trembling in on himself and beg Forte to forgive him. This was the path laid out for him. Solitude, apathy, nothing to keep him warm or to make him feel as if he meant anything. That piece of heaven that he had touched with Forte, it crumbled apart beneath his touch, just as so many other things have. It tore at his heart as it fell, ripping it like ribbons, like tears streaking through violet, falling to their deaths from harsh words and hopeless betrayal.  
  
There was no remorse, no way to repent, to ask for forgiveness. He could live, he would live so long as Forte was alive, was well. Even if he despised the very sight of him.  
  
But he didn't. That was what Forte hated most. He wanted so desperately to hate Blues, anything that he stood for, anything that he touched. But he couldn't. He loved him still, so deeply that it hurt trying to hate him. Perhaps, then, it wasn't Blues that was the problem. He still loved him, surely, but there was so many things that stood between them, right? If his mission was finished, if he didn't have to worry about the other bioroids, then he wouldn't have to keep walking away from Forte, right?  
  
Forte clenched his fists, watching as his tears slid down his black armor in shinning trails. So long as the problem was still out there, Blues would never be his. The problem. but what was the problem? What was the thing that kept bringing the elder to the outside world, over and over again? What kept taking him from Forte's side?  
  
A flash of blue eyes, blue armor and a childish smile.  
  
Him.  
  
He was the one getting in their way.  
  
His teeth snarled, lashing together in frustration. "I'll kill him. So long as if means that I'll get Blues back, I'll kill him and all that he stands for." Forte stood, checking his buster, eyes unchanging and full of bloodlust, blowing a nearby tree to splinters in his anger. "I'll kill Rock, and then Blues will stay with me forever." 


End file.
